How to Clean and Winterize Repossessed Homes

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Repossessed homes, also called foreclosures, are abandoned properties that are owned by banks and other lenders. They are almost always vacant, due to the fact that the previous owners were unable to pay the mortgage and were ordered out of the home. These houses need to be maintained until they are sold again, and most lenders will hire a company to do the maintenance work. Clean and winterize repossessed homes by making sure the inside and outside of the house is safe, presentable and protected against extreme weather elements that might cause damage to the structure or surrounding neighborhood.

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Clean the outside of the home. This will keep the property from becoming an eyesore or a dumping ground in the neighborhood.

Mow the lawn. Remember to check back every week or two to keep it mowed. Trim hedges, bushes, trees and weeds. You do not have to do extensive yard and landscaping work when cleaning the home, but make sure it looks neat.

Community Q&A

1) Clean out all trash. Hire a dumpster, if necessary, from your local garbage collector. 2) Sell all valuable furniture, if owner wants it gone. Have junk furniture hauled away. 3) Scrub and clean all walls, ceilings, floors, counter tops, tubs, sinks, toilets, windows, everything. 4) Steam clean all carpeting, use a dehumidifier and fans to dry the carpets thoroughly. 5) Turn water heater to vacation, or lowest setting, turn heat to 40 or above to prevent pipes from freezing. 6) If the house will not be heated, turn off the water main and water heater, and turn on the spigots to drain all the water out of the pipes and water heater.

Tips

Consider keeping the heat on and set at a very low temperature. Freezing cold homes will not show well, and having some heat in the house might reduce the likelihood of frozen plumbing and electrical wiring.

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wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has also been viewed 13,061 times.